(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE)
Turner Motorsport LIQUI MOLY BMW M6 GT3 Races to 2021 Rolex 24 At Daytona GTD Class Pole
Daytona Beach, FL (January 25, 2021) ---
For the first time ever the IMSA ROAR Before The 24 test days offered a race to close out the annual three-day test. The 100-minute race would determine the class pole winners for this weekend’s 59th Rolex 24 At DAYTONA.
Turner chose Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley, the team’s season-long drivers, to compete in the Pole Award race. The teams additional Rolex 24 drivers Australian Aidan Read and IndyCar wunderkind Colton Herta will get their time in the car next weekend. Auberlen, Foley and the No. 96 LIQUI MOLY BMW M6 GT3, are certainly no strangers to Victory Lane, having won two races last season to make Auberlen the driver with the most victories in IMSA history.
Traditionally the pole goes to the team with the quickest driver in a 15-minute session of cars within your class. This was not the case this past Sunday. The pole would go to the team that could win a 100-minute race – two drivers, pit stops for fuel and tire changes, 48 cars in five classes on the track, and weather conditions that ran the gamut from rain to sunshine.
While a qualifying race was something new, the Turner team approached it in the same fashion that has brought them success in some 400 races with BMW - take advantage of everything the race offers, make wise choices, and always have fun.
Foley started the race in maybe-it-will-rain-harder-maybe-it-will-stop, this-is-Florida conditions. Everyone started on Michelin wet tires. About 30 minutes in, it was looking like the sun was going to make a lasting appearance. Turner, of course, was among the first teams to pit for dry tires, make the driver change, add fuel, and go. Could it have gone badly? Dry tires on a slick track? Maybe for another team. Auberlen was in the car and would inherit the class lead when others pitted. Auberlen only made the lead bigger and would only make a quick stop to top up the fuel. Next stop, Victory Lane.
Now, most folks will tell you that it really doesn’t matter where you start a 24-hour race. Those folks are usually not telling you that from the pole position. And, they usually don’t have to race almost two hours for it. What Turner accomplished this past Sunday deserves a second look at that headline:
Turner Motorsport Races To 2021
Rolex 24 At Daytona GTD Class Pole
Will Turner – “We made the right decision to change to dry tires at the right time and held on for the win – and Turner Motorsport’s first Rolex 24 pole position. I’m not sure everyone else showed all of their potential, but we sure did. This was a race, correct? If it’s a race, we race to win. Smiles are something you will always find on this team. This week they’ll be a little bigger.”
WHERE TO WATCH
The green flag for the 2021 Rolex 24 At DAYTONA will drop on Saturday, January 30 at 3:40 P.M. ET and with coverage beginning and ending on NBC. Full broadcast coverage details can be found below and on imsa.com.
Television Coverage - Saturday, January 30 - Sunday, January 31 (All Times ET)
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. NBC
4:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. NBCSN
8:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m. NBC Sports Gold
11:00 p.m. (Saturday) - 3:00 a.m. (Sunday) NBCSN
3:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m. NBC Sports Gold
6:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. NBCSN
2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. NBC
TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold (iPad Dad, iPad ) Coverage: LIVE – Flag-to-flag
Saturday, January 30 - 3:40 p.m. ET - Sunday, January 31 - 3:40 p.m ET
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About Turner Motorsport
Turner Motorsport is the leading BMW tuner in North America, bringing technology and expertise from the racetrack to the street for over two decades. Since 1993 the Turner Motorsport Team has competed in over 380 professional races, winning seven professional racing championships in four different series since 2003. The most recent being the 2014 Team Championship in the GTD-class of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Their success is passed into every component that Turner Motorsport designs and sells through their comprehensive website and performance showroom. Our Race Team, R&D Engineers and Sales Team work together, ensuring practical knowledge and state-of-the-art engineering flow in both directions. Few companies in North America can claim such a close relationship to what they sell and what they race.
